Silverman wins the Silver Crescent

Former Winthrop history professor Jason Silverman accepts the prestigious Silver Crescent Award

Jason Silverman Ph.D, former Winthrop history professor, was awarded the Silver Crescent for his influence in the Rock Hill community on March 21. 

According to Judy Longshaw, Winthrop’s news and media service manager, the “Order of the Silver Crescent is the state’s highest civilian award for significant contributions, leadership, volunteerism, and lifelong influence within a region or community and is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.” 

Silverman felt the honor represented an impactful 33 and a half years of teaching at Winthrop University. 

“The Order of the Silver Crescent is an incredible honor.  I am thrilled to have received it.  I am also humbled to have received both the highest honor the state of South Carolina awards to a civilian and the the highest honor the state of South Carolina awards to a professor,” he said. 

Silverman feels honored to receive The Order of the Silver Crescent nearly 30 years after receiving the Governor’s Professor of the Year Award in 1990. 

“To be recognized on the state level twice tells me that I did some things right in my almost 40 year teaching career,” Silverman said. 

Referring to himself as “the good ship Silverman” within the classroom, Silverman came into port for the very last time when he retired in Dec. of 2017.

Freshman political science major Malik Frazier, had nothing but kind things to say about his former professor. 

“He truly cares about each student he comes across. He’s a great storyteller and makes the stories interesting,” he said.  

Silverman’s passion for history began at an early age.

“Growing up in Virginia I was surrounded by all sorts of historical reminders,  monuments, battlefields, and the like so my interest in history came early.  I was captain of a now famous high school football team, T.C. Williams (from Remember the Titans) and I played football at the University of Virginia so my first plan was to teach high school history and coach football,” he said. 

Silverman developed his teaching method from his experiences as a student.  

“The more bad examples of teaching I experienced as a student the more determined I was to become a good teacher and never subject my students to what I was subjected to.  From an early age I always wanted to teach,” he said.

According to RatemyProfessor.com, Silverman was a very highly recommended professor at Winthrop. His students have tagged his rate profile with tags such as  inspirational, respected, caring , amazing lectures and many other high honors. 

When told of his rating on the website, Silverman stated, “I have always said that my career at Winthrop was a 33 and a half year long long affair with the students.  They are the most loyal and wonderful group of folks it has ever been my pleasure to know.  They, and they alone, are the reason I stayed at Winthrop for as long as I did.” 

By Gweneshia Wadlington

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